Page 29 of Coach Me
“Beck took him for a ride on one of the team’s razors. I thought our conversation might go a little smoother without the many interruptions.”
Lucie messaged me one question last night: what time do you need me at the stadium? I know I practically ambushed her with the offer yesterday, and with the instant hiring regret gnawing on my brain right now, I think offering one more out might be fair…just not sure if I’m offering it for me or for her.
“Look, if you want to back out of this, I get it?—”
“I don’t,” Lucie cuts me off. “Dex, I get that this is a lot, but I do want this job. And I asked Callie for your team email, so my official pay request is in your inbox. My business-minded sister has drilled into my head that everything needs a paper trail, and a text felt a little informal.”
“Kind of like my interview?” The dry joke tumbles out of me.
Lucie’s face softens with a hint of a smile on her face. “Yeah, kind of like your interview.”
This was a horrible idea and I’m putting her smile as reason number one.
Clearing my throat, I shuffle in my chair. Who am I kidding? Between her age and the fact that she’s one of my player’s sisters, those are the only things that need to be on my list.
“Okay, I know this is fast-paced, so stop me when you have questions. We’re leaving for Phoenix on Sunday night. I’ll have the team assistant, Shannon, send over the full schedule and itineraries for the team. You can also move some stuff in tomorrow before we leave.”
“Sounds good. Anything I need to know about Miles, like allergies, medical things to watch for?”
“No, Miles is pretty healthy, despite wanting to fight me on every meal of the day that doesn’t involve sweets.”
“Can’t fault him for that, I love a sweet treat.” Lucie chuckles and tucks her hair behind her ears. “Like you said, we’re going at an extremely fast pace. I know getting a routine will come. I looked into some of the requirements for homeschooling last night, but we have some time there so I thought we could talk about that later, but is there anything else I need to know?”
That Olsson’s “no fraternizing rule” might be lax, but mine’s not.
“In the paperwork Shannon will give you, she has a list of all the emergency contacts and my schedule specifically. Miles can pretty much go anywhere in the stadium, but some meetings and events aren’t exactly the best times for him to be running around.”
“Got it.” Lucie nods again, but then her eyes light up. “Oh, I forgot to ask what you thought about turtles?”
What the fuck?“Turtles?”
“Yeah, I had turtles in my classroom. They’re a hit with the kids, so I thought Miles might like them too since I’ll technically also be his teacher.”
“No, no turtles.” I shake my head. She’s lost her mind.
Or maybe I have, because when her shoulders drop and she nibbles on her bottom lip, I ask, “With the schedule we have, who’s going to feed them? They’d starve.”
Lucie straightens back up. “So my turtles are actually old enough that they only need to eat every few days, and I have an automatic feeder that I would use on our longer breaks. They come home during the summer, but ya know, things have changed.”
I don’t need turtles in my penthouse. No matter how pretty Lucie is. I. Don’t. Need. Turtles.
“Also, Callie might have already mentioned to Miles that I have turtles.”
“Fucking Callie.” I run my hand over my face. I can’t seriously be considering this. “Can I think on it?”
That seemingly innocent smile dares Lucie’s lips again. “Yeah, of course.”
“Anything else I need to think about? So far, you’ve come in with green juice and turtles.”
Lucie snorts an adorable laugh, it sounds so warm and easy—I want to hear it again already. Yep, that’s reason number two on my list.
Lucie looks at me. “Remember when you said you were desperate?”
I’m so fucking desperate.
“Lucie!” Miles exclaims as he bursts through the doorway. “Are you really going to be my teacher? Daddy said that you were going to talk about it.”
Miles is practically hanging off the arm of Lucie’s chair,talking ninety miles a minute. When Beck finally makes his way in my office, Lucie doesn’t even spare him a glance because she’s giving all her attention to Miles.
